Envelope sealing device



1 Liz. 7 M13 a a INVENTOR ORNEY\ C. s. GILMANv l ENvELoPE SEALING DEVICE A Fiied July 2o, 1953 Patented Apr. 2, 1935 UNITED STATES i Losetas ENVELOPEr SEALING *DEVICEy charles s. Gilman, nreeklvii; N. y, Application July zo, 193s, sei-iai Nc, 681,284 it 01eme.. roi. tiefem) y' This invention relates to envelope Sealing devices.

on object ef this invention 1ero-provide a seat,

ing device of the character described` WhQh may 54 be moved relative the sheet to bemoistoried while the latter is held stationary, Said device having a moistened pad and heine1 provided with myproven means for guiding the sheet, forlexomple. the iiap of an .envelope onto a surface of the had.

10 andpressing said liep rmly against the pod.

to insure proper moisteningv of the adhesive oh thefflap.. 4 i A' A further object of thishvehtion is to Dro:

vide an envelope sealer of .the character described i; having improved means .for feeding water Ato the moisteningvpad, f n 4 A still-further object of this invention' is .to

provide a, neat, compact and-rugged envelope.

sealer of the character described, which yshall be 2o relatively inexpensive to manufacture, voonoprise few and, simple ports, be easvto assemblea'nd.

manipulate, and which shall yet Vloe attractive in .appearance and practical and eflicient to a high' degree. f

Other objectsl of this invention Will in part he obvio-us and 'm parthereinafter pointed out,

The invention accordnglycoIlSStS ih. Tihefeow tures of construction, combinations .o f elements,k

andy arrangementv .of parts which lWill be lexeoflplie' 3oY edin the construction hereinaftery desoibod,.

and envelope in position for applying motllt thereto; f i,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the boli-tom Plato Dortion of my improved envelope sealer;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational View o f the envelope sealer With the top portion tilted backwards;

Fig. 5 isa cross-,sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2; c f 'Fig. 6 is a side elovaitionlrviwof th-wl containing tube Withparts in c izossesetion; Figi '7 is -a-crossssectional view taken ,op line '1 -1 of Fig. 1 Y .Y Referring now in Adetail to the drawing, lpdese ignates a sealing device .embodying the invention, 55: here shown to comprise a bottom .plateor .meme

2,*-2 of Fig. 1 and showing a portion of the fla/D ber 'l ihavihg asipooth. uhtlersiiriaoe ehd to olie: end of which there is hinged, as at I3, a, top inemher 14.'.I'he bottom member. .Il .may @emotie of metal. orfonv other suitable material and .isotovided at one .end thereot vivitht tubular portioh l 5. 4.o termine partei the It.. lAtlieoeht the hinged end thereof, the top suriaeeof the' mem-i her Il is iorihedwith .o split1 circular or .oylihdrieel wall. lo forming .o trough it... The upper Seriate of. the'ioeiiiher .Il is, furthermore ,formed with olighedrtrehsverse well. portions il, the ner epos .ot which spaeediiohf'ohe another ood ihtereohheotedto the .oylihdriool Wall It hv. parallel' wall portiohs, !8` forming passage IB oommupiostipe with the trough .l 6, The plate l!" 15 is furthermore .termed with side edges 19o interoor'meetihs the rear chti thereof with the-outerV ehds .QI well'portiohs Yl" and .termine a .depressed strisce'. .2.0 sorrohhdihe theshlt cylindrical 'Well lil. The iront portion of the plato l! may he of sehstaritially .semi-foitoillor shape and is provided' Withia substantially semi-circular wall 22 around the ,edge thereof, .merging with the wall portionsY i laoand ik The .upper .surface .2.3. of plate l! torinesi .loetween the Wallizzopo the wail portions l1 is preferablvfot .a somewhat ,hieher'level than the levelV of the trough .16.. The siirieoet, however, is formed with .aloiroular recess or'eroove 23a oom-y mimieotihg with the passage I t and .with ihher ooneeptiioeiroiilar' reeesslor groove .2.5 oorhmuhieating with the recess 23o through' radial .intere eohneotihgipessaees :or grooves 25.. Received within the depression .23j is .a tiet moistehihe pod 42 of anyshitahle water absorbing or spongy mo- 3,5. teral, overlying and covering the .recesses 2311,25y ond26,' 1

For the purpose hereinafter appearing, orio Side. oi the Wall 2.2 .is raised, es at Il, `and.Curved up` weroly ehdipvvardlyfes shown Fiel-.5 of the drawing to form petitie, AAt .the Junction. oi one t of the. wallportiohs Il and the Wttl122 there is formed o; boss 2.9 provided with a'sorew threaded opening 39,191* the purpose hereinafter appearing. n

The member lo is provided with a plato Portion 3,2 edoptedtooverlie.oodhavipe substantiohythe sahieoiitliiie es the member Iliohd is termed et the. 'rear ehd thereof with. a pair oftilhulor por-3 i tions rit received he hhhpsite sisies of the tohp tion I4 and receiving therethrough pie 34 possiriis .through said tubular portion .Ito and forming the L3, .Extending upwardly Irom the plate 32 iseeasihg 35 which ihovhe of .outer shape, 'here shown .for thephrpose of illustrof 5,5

tion only, as the head and shoulders of an armored knight. Said casing 35 is formed with a tubular chamber 36 aligned with the trough I6, said chamber being enlarged at the bottom end, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Extending downwardly from the plate portion 32 is a skirted portion 31 received within the depressed portion 20, said portion being notched, as at 38, for receiving the wall portions I8. The ,front of the plate 32 is likewise substantially semi-circularin shape and the undersurface thereof o'n the side remote from the cammed projection 21 is formed with a downwardly extending guide or cam 40, for the purpose hereinafter appearing. j Removably received within the chamber 36 is a water reservoir or receptacle, suchl as Va rubber bulb 43 having a tubular portion 44 and a'bulbous or spherical portion 45 at the bottom thereof, formed with a small opening 46. The bulbous portion `45 is adapted to rest on the cylindrical,-

r threaded opening 30. It will Vnowbevunderstood thatwhen the screw 41 'is turnedto disengage the bottom end thereof fromthe threaded'opening 30, the upper member I4 may be swung about the hinge I3. When themember I4 is lowered,

, the screw 41 may be turned for screwing the bottom end within the opening and to lock the members II and I4. Ordinarily water within the bulb 43 will not flow through the opening 46. However, when the device I0 isjshaken or moved, dropsV `will pass through the lopening into the trough I6 and thence pass through the passage I9 to the passages 23a, 25 vand 26 for wetting the pady 42.

"The upper surface of the pad is preferably on the level of the upper edgeof the cam'21,where as the lower edge of the cam 4I)A isbelow the upper surface of the padfand substantially contacts the wall 22. The flap of an envelopemay bemoistened by moving the device' I0 and holding the flap stationary, and in substantially closed position,

lifted suiliciently to permit the bottom plate to' move between the flap and body of the envelope. Thus the device may be held by grasping the casing and moved so that the left edge of the flap is received between the cam 21 and the underside of the plate 32. The device may then be moved from right to left, the flap being guided ,by cam or guide 21 onto the upper surface of be vfully closed and the sealing member placed on top of said ilapj and moved from side to side and pressed down for tightly sealing said flap. Said sealing member may be readily manipulated by` graspingthe head'of the knighted figure or I the upper portion of the casing 35. As the sealing 'device is moved, drops may yflow through the opening in the reservoir into the trough I6 one drop at a time.

The bulb 43, may of course, be removed for refilling with water by first turning the screw 41 sufliciently to disengage the same from the lower plate II. The member I4 may then be swung rearwardly and the bulb readily withdrawn.

Obviously, sheets other than envelope flaps may be moistened by my improved sealing device. The device I 0 may also be used for moistening stamps, labels and the like, by tilting the member I4 back until the head rests on the table, to expose the pad.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invvention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth `or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

'1. A sealing device comprising a bottom plate, a top plate hinged to the bottom plate, and adapted to be swung to overlying position relative to said bottom plate, a casing extending upwardly from said top plate open at the bottom and forminga chamber communicating with the underside `of said top plate, a water reservoir disposed within said chamber, and removable from the bottom open end thereof, and having an opening at the bottom end thereof, and a pad on the bottom plate adapted to receive water from saidv reservoir.

2. A sealing device comprising a bottom plate, a top plate hinged to the bottom plate, a casing extending upwardly from said top plate and formed with a chamber communicating with the underside of said top plate, a bulb disposed within said chamber and having an aperture at the bottom end thereof, the upper surface of said bottom plate being formed with a trough receiving the apertured end of said bulb, and a pad on said bottom plate, said bottom plate being formed with means for conveying water from said trough to said pad.

3. A sealing device comprising a plate, a pad mounted on the upper surface of said plate, a second plate hinged to said Iiirst plate and adapted to be swung to overlying position relative` to said first plate, said second plate being formed with a screw threaded opening, a screw screwed within vsaid opening, and said bottom plate being formed with a threaded opening for receiving said screw, whereby said plates may be locked together, said plates being spaced in locked condition to permit a sheet to be inserted between said pad and said second plate.

4. In a'sealing device, a plate formed with a trough, said plate being further formed with a depressed surface, a pad received within said depressed surface, said depressed surface being formed with recesses communicating with said trough, and a second plate hinged to said first plate and overlying the same, and means on said second plate for feeding water to said trough.

5. A sealing device comprising a bottom plate, a top plate hinged at the rear end thereof to the rear end of said bottom plate, said bottom plate being formed on the upper surface thereof with a split'cylindrical wall forming a trough, said plate being further formed with a depressed surface, a sealing pad received within said depressed surface, a passage interconnecting said trough with said depressed surface, said upper plate being formed with a chamber, a bulb received within said chamber and having an aperture the apertured portion of said bulb projecting into said trough for feeding `water thereto.

6. A sealing device comprising a bottom plate, a top plate hinged at the rear end thereof to the rear end of said bottom plate, said bottom plate being formed on the upper surface thereof with a split cylindrical wall forming a trough, said plate being further formed with a depressed portion, a sealing pad received Within said depressed portion, a passage interconnecting saidv trough with said depressed portion, said upper plate being formed with a casing, a bulb received within said casing and having an opening, the portion of said bulb formed with the opening overlying said trough for feeding water thereto, and means for locking said plates against pivotal movement.

'7. A sealing device comprising upper and lower superimposed plates, a pad on said lower plate and between said plates, a guide on said lower plate for guiding a sheet to the upper surface of said pad, and a guide on vsaid upper plate for pressing said sheet down against said upper surface of said pad, a casing on said upper plate having a chamber communicating with the underside of said plate, and a receptacle for water removably received within said chamber.

8. A sealing devicercomprising upper and lower superimposed plates, a pad on said lower plate and between said plates, a guide on said lower plate for guiding a sheet to the upper surface of said pad, and a guide on said upper plate for pressing said sheet down against said upper surface of said pad, a casing on said upper Aplate having a chamber communicating with the underside of said plate, and a receptacle for water removably received within said chamber, said receptacle being collapsible and having an opening, and said lower plate having a trough on the upper surface thereof for. receiving water passing through said opening and,r means for conveying the water in said trough to said pad.

9. A sealing device comprising a bottom plate, a top plate hinged to the bottom plate, and adapted to be swung to overlying position relative to said bottom plate, a casing extending upwardly from said top plate open at the bottom and forming a chamber communicating with the underside of said top plate, a water reservoir disposed vwithin said chamber removable from the open bottom end of said'chamber, said reservoir having an opening at the bottom end thereof, and a pad mounted on said bottom plate and disposed between said plates, said plates being spaced to receive a sheet inserted between said pad and said top plate. f

10. A sealing device comprising a bottom plate, a top plate hinged to the bottom plate, and adapted to be swung to overlying position relative to said bottom plate, a casing extending upwardly from said top plate and formed with a chamber communicating with the underside of said top plate, a water reservoir disposed within said chamber and having an opening at the botl plates and disposed between said plates, said other plate being formed with a chamber and a water receptacle removably mounted in said chamber, and adapted to deposit water on' said first plate, said first plate having means for conveying Water to said pad.

12. A sealing device comprising a pair of superimposed hinged plates, a pad on one of said plates and disposed between said plates, said other plate being formed with a chamber and a water receptacle removably mounted in said chamber and adapted to deposit water on said first plate, said iirst plate having means for conveying water to said pad, said receptacle being made. of rubber and having a single opening. n

13. A sealing device comprising a pair of superimposed hinged plates, a pad on one of said plates and disposed between said plates, said other plate being formed with a chamber, and a water receptacle removably mounted in said chamber, and adapted to deposit water'on said iirst plate, said rst plate having means for conveyingwater to said pad,said receptacle being made of rubber andhaving a single opening, and means for releasably locking said plates against relative movement. f

14. A sealing device comprising a bottom member, a top member hinged at the rear end thereof to the rear end of said bottom member, said bottom member being formed on the upper sur-A face thereof with a trough, and being further formed with a depressed surface, a pad received within said depressed surface, a passage interconnecting said trough with said depressed sur-` face, said upper member being formed with a chamber, a bulb received withinA said chamber and having an aperture, the apertured portion of said bulb projecting into said trough for feeding water thereto.

l5. A sealing device comprising a-,bottom member, a top member hinged at the rear end thereof to the rear end of said bottom member, saidy bottom member being formed on the upper surface thereof with a trough, and being further formed with a depressed portion, a pad received within said depressed portion, a passage interconnecting said trough with said depressed porformed with the opening overlying said trough n CHARLES S. GILMAN. 

